Why was that approach important now? I will be changing the format of how we manage the mega thread going forward to help with the character limit. Hes also been. Linkletter: I do think geography plays a role, too. Paul Haynes, who had also worked on McNamaras book, posted lengthy diatribes about Jensen that landed him a cease-and-desist from Jensens lawyers. As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work. that Jensen acted inappropriately toward her on more than one occasion after she was a guest on a, . Williams, the second podcaster to go public, first shared his account of that evenings events on his show, He recalls that Jensen appeared drunk and that, at one point during the party, his friend approached him and told him that Jensen had just grabbed her buttocks. [He was] grabbing the back of my neck. He also said something about how he would go down on [his co-worker], she says. Jensen: As Alexis was uncovering more and more of this information, my jaw was dropping. Her face was every bit as shocked and embarrassed as mine was.. One person had said I hugged them for too long and talked too closely to them; one said I put my arm around them multiple times; and one said I touched their behind during an embrace., Pointing out those are *three* allegations from this one party ^, When I was informed of the complaints, I was shocked, embarrassed, and hated to hear that I had made others feel uncomfortable, Jensen tells Rolling Stone. Newell claims Jensen kissed her right before she got into her Uber. Combining the shoe-leather investigative tenacity and skills . Michelle McNamara died from a sudden accidental overdose in 2016, her friend and fellow true crime enthusiast Billy Jensen was devastated. I regularly listen to two other podcasts that hes on (The First Degree and Unraveled, which is between seasons right now). It was very awkward, she says. But if you have this man in charge of a police department, its just a recipe for total chaos as far as enforcing the law is concerned, because, like Billy said, his whole reason for kicking the feds out was so he could protect his wrongdoings, and whether thats as extreme as murder or just roughing up sex workers, it plays into why the case hasnt been solved. And it worked. We were told when we were conducting the interviews, District Attorney Tim Sini is leaning pretty heavily on the cell phone data dumps that theyre doing, and theyre using this new technology to analyze various cell phone data from the area. He was running Suffolk County Police Department like he was the prince of Suffolk County. Newell says she cut ties with Jensen at the beginning of June when Jensen was in the process of helping her with a book she was working on. Last Stand in Coal Country Jensen, his, co-hosts, Newell, and Newells friend Rachael OBrien went to a bar after the event. I felt honored at the time he would do something like that for me, even though I was still stewing over what had just happened a few weeks prior, she says. Theycontained about 3,500 files on the Golden State Killer. As one social media user put it: Time to step up and be honest because the rumors going around are about to get ahead of this. And they did. I felt [Jensens] hand just grab and smack, basically, the back of my head, Calderon-Olsen says. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. One person had said I hugged them for too long and talked too closely to them; one said I put my arm around them multiple times; and one said I touched their behind during an embrace., After the investigation was concluded, Jensen says he was told he had acted inappropriately and the podcast was then discontinued. 1:29 An event at Gramercy Books featuring true-crime podcast host and author Billy Jensen has been canceled after the publication of Jensen's latest book has been indefinitely postponed.. I thought this was all my fault., Newell next saw Jensen at a true-crime meetup event at the L.A. bar Idle Hour on Oct. 18, 2019. Its the end of an era, podcast network Exactly Right tweeted in May 2022. Order "Killers Amidst Killers: Hunting Serial Killers Operating Under the Cloak of America's Opioid Epidemic". We want to hear it. During this time a lot of people saw this and then it became a rumor that he may have had a relationship with me., At the time of these interactions, Newell says she dismissed Jensens behavior but reassessed it after the Exactly Right employee allegations came out. Billy Jensen earned his first cover story in the spring of 1997. And the release of his upcoming book, Killers Amidst Killers: Hunting Serial Killers Operating Under the Cloak of Americas Opioid Epidemic, , which had been scheduled for publication this summer, has been indefinitely delayed. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Jensen and Holes was officially cancelled last week and announced that they will be deleting all episodes from the feed. he wrote of McNamaras dogged nature, her apt ability to get grizzled investigators to open up, and her dedication to tracking down the serial killer responsible for 13 murders and close to 50 rapes. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Are other people going to continue to listen? "Chase Darkness With Me" is described as a memoir about "Jensen's life and career investigating unsolved crimes, and the shocking homicide caught on camera in Chicago that compelled him to . What are you hoping that the podcast and TV special will achieve? Newell says the first alleged inappropriate incident followed a signing for Jensens book Chase Darkness With Me on Aug. 13, 2019, in Los Angeles. I remember walking in and Billy immediately grabbed me and started hugging me to the point where it was a little too long, she says. One of those podcasters claimed that Jensen had slapped her during an otherwise consensual encounter something Jensen has, . As of August 2nd there has been no statement from Exactly Right about this. And if it wasnt for podcasts like this and for people making movies about it, keeping this story in the mainstream, I dont think they would put the resources behind it. It was almost a different person when I saw him at the bar. Everyone was drinking that night, Calderon-Olsen says, including her, adding that Jensen seemed particularly intoxicated. Yet every case he investigated reached the same conclusion: the missing stayed missing, the murderer got away. You know, if they would have released that belt right after it happened or even the six months after it happened, after it was discovered [rather than in 2020], you would have had people trying to find who might have made belts like that at the time. BJ gave an interview to Rolling stone and the article includes some of his quotes. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. With the man she was dating on the way, she alleges Jensen once again began making advances on her. People who a whisper network will warn you about, she says. To all of this, I want to make clear that I was unaware I had done anything untoward, and it certainly wasnt intentional I would never want to make others feel uncomfortable in any way, and I am deeply sorry., Jensen isnt new to the true crime community; he got his start in the Nineties as a reporter on Long Island, and went on to cover crime for alt-weeklies and magazines, including. She says he then took hold of her head in his hand. As the pandemic descended in 2020, they lost touch. The same year Burke became police chief, Loeb, who was then using heroin, was arrested for stealing a duffel bag from Burkes car. And of course theres the end of the Murder Squad. Visit website . He even mentioned McNamaras then-unfinished book on the case. Im actually dating someone at this time so any flirty behavior with him is absolutely not OK, Newell recalls. NYT bestseller Chase Darkness with Me: How One True Crime Writer Started Solving Murders, Discovery+: Unraveled, Killers Amidst Killers coming 2023. No, I did not. So what did you find when you started digging around? So again, to have somebody who is supposed to be well-versed in survivors and victim sensitivity, those boundaries were crossed. Jensen, for his part, claims Calderon-Olsen is part of the organized effort to spread negative stories about him, a claim she denies and calls irresponsible, saying she only came out in support of his accuser at Exactly Right. Journalist Andrea Grimes also made a statement in a series of tweets about her previous work with BJ when he was her boss. It arrives on Sept. 14th 2022. Editors picks For the short time he lived in Lawrence . Newell says she cut ties with Jensen at the beginning of June when Jensen was in the process of helping her with a book she was working on. Billy Jensen was booted from his hit podcast, The Murder Squad. But it might be. Within a week of McNamara's passing, Oswalt gave Jensen and Haynes McNamaras hard drives. Taken by themselves, some of these allegations show embarrassing behavior in my private life, Jensen tells, . You can read it in full here: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/billy-jensen-murder-squad-misconduct-allegation-investigation-1384950/. Billy Bush thinks T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach should keep working together after their firing from ABC, and gives a few ways how they can bounce back. Time is running out to solve this case. In late 2011, authorities announced they were looking for one murderer responsible for all of the deaths. I felt honored at the time he would do something like that for me, even though I was still stewing over what had just happened a few weeks prior, she says. Its my understanding that Billy sort of framed it as Id been scorned, she says. Jensen: Having grown up on Long Island and starting my career on Long Island as a true crime journalist, I was working on this case even before it was the Long Island serial killer case. OBrien, watching the alleged touching, asked her friend if she was OK, then excused herself. Following McNamara's death, Oswalt connected Jensen to citizen detective Paul Haynes, who McNamara had enlisted as a research collaborator on her investigation. Terra is an incredibly smart girl and very sweet, she says. When true crime writer and author Michelle McNamara died from a sudden accidental overdose in 2016, her friend and fellow true crime enthusiast Billy Jensen was devastated. To all of this, I want to make clear that I was unaware I had done anything untoward, and it certainly wasnt intentional I would never want to make others feel uncomfortable in any way, and I am deeply sorry.. Without running afoul of the police, of course. She had seen rumors circulating online about his behavior at the Halloween party, which made her rethink her interactions with him in the past, which she says she hadnt quite yet processed. For over fifteen years, Billy Jensen worked as a true crime writer, fighting for victims' families as he examined unsolved murders and disappearances across the country. The number of stories of which I was aware increased significantly as women I didnt know began reaching out to me to share their own experiences with [Jensen], and as other women posted their stories anonymously on Reddit and Facebook groups. While I understand some might be cynical of my seeking treatment, I needed to not only address my alcohol use, but my mental health as well, he says. There was no time to grieve because there was work to be done, Jensen told Oxygen.com. In a sworn statement Williams gave to his friends lawyer in April 2022, which, reviewed, he said his friend reached out to him again a couple months after the party to talk about the alleged incident. I love Long Island. Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration neurosciences head Billy Dunn will retire from his role effective immediately, the health regulator told Reuters on Tuesday. Billy Jensen, co-host of the Murder Squad and contributor to various books and podcasts, has been accused of sexual harassment from multiple co-workers and fellow pod-casters. Celene Beth Calderon-Olsen, a podcast host and victim advocate who has spoken openly about surviving rape, also alleges that Jensen acted inappropriately toward her in 2019. Gives him credit for solving cases (unconfirmed). After Michelle McNamara passed away, Billy Jensen did what he could to honor her. Together, Jensen and Haynes wrote part three of McNamara's book. Two other sources allege that there had been whispers about Jensen in the true crime community well before Murder Squad was cancelled and allegations of Jensens inappropriate touching came to light. She says he then took hold of her head in his hand. One of those podcasters claimed that Jensen had slapped her during an otherwise consensual encounter something Jensen has denied both publicly on his website and to Rolling Stone. Basically Jensen was fired from ER after a sexual harassment claim was lodged by another ER employee. Again, all these signs pointing to, he was a good guy. She also says she reached out to him with a professional request on behalf of a production company she worked for, and acknowledges she tagged him in some social media posts. For me, the importance of it is kind of layered because I mean, I went to high school with Chris Loeb, and I had no idea there were any issues with corruption, especially police corruption, when I was growing up there. (He has also posted publicly about it on his website in response to recent allegations.) They also knocked on the door of Burkes last known address, but were told he no longer lived there.). The pair didn't want to try to replicate McNamara's writing style; rather they wrote in their own voice for their section while incorporating as much of McNamara's work as possible. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Jensen: If the chief of police treats a lot of women the way that he does, how are we supposed to think that he cares at all about solving this case? After the rest of the party left, Newell says Jensen tried to talk her into getting a hotel room. In it, they included. BJ has made his own statements via his website. Take that for what it is. Hes very familiar that Ive been outspoken about my rape. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Hes well aware that Im a survivor, she says. Since the popularity of true crime podcasts began to soar, families of victims have begun putting their trust in amateur investigators and podcasters who they believe can help reinvigorate cases that may have languished in obscurity. According to Jensen, a lawyer from Exactly Right contacted him not long after the party and connected him with an investigator, who said they received complaints from three people saying that my hugs and embraces had been over the line, he says. I think thats what made me most disgusted by him, is that he knows shes a victim of trauma to the scariest degree. What does this case mean to you both as people who grew up on Long Island? I never had romantic feelings for Billy. Tisdale says that she decided to speak about the alleged slap on her podcast after she heard about allegations following a 2021 party that ultimately led to Jensens removal from his podcast. Linkletter: I just think accountability. Meet a gumshoe for the digital age: the Facebook detective. I really thought it was this idyllic, beautiful place. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. McNamaras work on the case has been credited for helping to catch the killer, who pleaded guilty to the decade-spanningcriminal campaignlast month. In 2019, CBCs investigative podcast, Finding Cleo, uncovered what happened to a missing indigenous girl, Cleopatra Semaganis Nicotine, highlighting the plight of her community. But after seventeen years of writing hundreds of stories with no endings, he was fed up-and decided to try to solve the murders and find the missing himself. Newell next saw Jensen at a true-crime meetup event at the L.A. bar Idle Hour on Oct. 18, 2019.